HBO reportedly offered hackers $250K ransom

Image courtesy HBO(NEW YORK) — HBO apparently offered to pay $250,000 to hackers that breached its data and have been leaking it online, according to an email the hackers leaked on Thursday, reports Variety.

A message, dated July 27, sent to the hackers by an HBO executive, apparently in response to a ransom demand, offered a “bounty payment” of a quarter of a million dollars, as part of an effort to reward “white hat IT professionals” for bringing data breaches to the company’s attention, according to Variety. The magazine says that a source close to the investigation has confirmed the email.

The source said the message was part of a stalling tactic to give the company time to assess the nature and severity of the breach.